Safety device for electrical receptacles



y 2, 1967 J. c. SETECKA 3,317,881

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLES Filed April 18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

John C. Sefecka Attorney May 2, 196 J. c. SETECKA 3,317,331

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLES Filed April 18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

1 N VEN TOR.

John C. Sefecka B X AH ney slots of the receptacles, and which resilient boss 3,317,881 SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLES John C. Setecka, 1931 S. Austin Ave., Cicero, Ill. 60650 Filed Apr. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 544,666 4 Claims. (Cl. 339-42) This invention is directed to safety devices for electrical receptacles or sockets, and which have structural features adapted to prevent accidental contact by children and other persons with the terminals of electrical wall and floor receptacles.

A number of serious and fatal accidents have occurred in which children have either inserted their fingers or inserted conductive metal objects held by such children into electrical wall receptacles which has caused severe electric shock or fatal charges.

In other instances, accidents have occurred to children when withdrawing or inserting the prong-carrying plugs of lights and of various appliances from and into electrical wall receptacles, in that the child has contacted both of the terminal prongs of plugs before such prongs are out of contact with the terminals of electrical receptacles. Such accidental electrical contacts having been made either with the inserting of fingers or with some metal objects such as metal forks, knives, or other tableware or tools.

No completely safe device has heretofore been devised or provided to prevent such accidents, and objects and accomplishments of my invention are:

(a) To provide a relatively economically manufacturable device mountable on or adjacent electrical wall receptacles which includes a resilient passaged body or pad which substantially projects from the terminal-carrying portion of wall receptacles and which has two passages therethrough in normal alignment with the plug receiving or body is adapted to be compressed by insertion and pushing movement of terminal plugs into electrical contact With the terminal plates of such receptacle; and which bodies or pads guard and shield the metal terminals of plugs against human contact while said plugs are either being withdrawn or inserted, until the prongs are out of contact with the stationery terminal plates of the receptacle.

(b) To provide safety guards attachable adjacent to electrical wall receptacles which shield the prongs of electrical plugs against normal insertion or withdrawing movements and which have means to obstruct the normal projection therethrough of conductive articles to prevent accidental electrical shocks, and which have restricted passages therein to permit enforced passage therethrough ,of the contact prongs of electrical plugs.

(c) To provide guarding means for electrical receptacles which include yieldable pads and slotted flexible plates secured thereto and means for mounting said guarding means to one or to a plurality of adjacent receptacles, and which are adapted/to prevent insertion of human fingers or pointed conductive objects into contact with the terminals of electrical receptacles, and which have means permitting enforced passage therethrough of metal prongs of connecting plugs.

(d) To provide single or duplex electrical outlet receptacles having removable mounted guards which have the novel structural features and advantages recited in the foregoing paragraphs.

Other and further important objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.

On the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of one electrical receptacle I United States Patent having my safety device connected thereto and partially showing boss portions of the guard member in elevation.

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of a duplex receptacle boss and having my device mounted in position adjacent thereto, and taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section looking at the rear of FIG. 1 and taken substantially on a plane indicated by line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary and perspective view of my guard and pad and the mounting means therefor, and with parts broken away.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross section taken on a plane indicated by line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross section similar to FIG. 5 and with the prongs of an appliance plug partially inserted in position in the pad though not into contacting position with the electrical terminals of the receptacle.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross section view partly similar to FIG. 6, except showing the connecting plug fully inserted in terminal-contacting position, and showing the distorted portions of the inner guard plate and showing the yielding pad compressed.

As shown on the drawings:

Numeral 10 designates a fragmentary portion of a building wall, which preferably has either a coating of plaster or sheeting 11 secured to it, fragments of which are illustrated in certain views.

A conventional type of electrical receptacle box 12, portions of which are illustrated, is suitably mounted in an opening of desired size formed in such sheeting and wall, for example, by means of screws and brackets 13, as illustrated in the middle portion of FIG. 1. As is Well known, such metal boxes have one or more passages therein in which metal conduit 14 is suitable secured with the aid of a fitting 15 and a lock-nut 16 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Such metal boxes 12 also have upper and lower inwardly bent apertured ears 17 formed integral with the walls of said box, two of which are illustrated in FIG. 1.

Numeral 19a and numeral 18 designate the usual conductive wires which connect the electrical receptacle with a power source and which extend through one or more conduits 14.

Numeral 19 designates a conventional type of duplex electrical receptacle which normally has two spaced apart, non-conductive bosses 20 which are preferably moulded of either Bakelite or other suitable plastic. Said bosses or bodies 20 are partially secured in position with the aid of an elongated angular offset metal connector bar 21, one of which is illustrated partially in FIG. 2, and which has ends or ears which are apertured or slotted. Either one or two of such duplex receptacles 19 are adapted to be mounted in a desired position in a box by means of threaded screws 23 which removably extend and are mounted in the slots or apertures of cars 22 and which thread into the threaded ears 17 of the box 12 as illustrated.

Said duplex receptacles usually carry angular metal apertured connector strips and terminals 24, each of which are integral with an inwardly extending flexible bent contact terminal 35, there being two of such terminals 25 in each non-conductive body 20 which are integral with the two spaced metal connector strips 24 of each receptacle, portions of which are illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

Numeral 26 designates an apertured metal face plate whose periphery is normally bent ,as indicated and which is normally secured over the wall opening and over the electrical box and receptacle by means of a screw 27 which extends through a central aperture thereof, and which threads into a metal .arm 28, as indicated in FIG. 2.

Numeral 30 designates a plate or panel or shield which is preferably made of relatively soft, pliable, non-conductive and flexible material, and which has or carries two vertically spaced apart pockets or bosses 31 which may be formed integral with said panel 30. Said panel has a suitable aperture in its middle portion through which the screw 27 extends, and the metal face plate 26 normally holds said panel or flange 30 in desired position as illustrated. Said pockets or bosses 31 are positioned to project outwardly opposite the respective members of the electrical receptacle and said pockets 31 each have a pair of spaced apart slots or openings 32 formed therein in substantial alignment with the inner terminal connector plates of the receptacle. Suitably secured or mounted within or formed integral with each of the pockets 31 is a yieldable cushion or pad 33 which may be secured therein by either cement or other suitable fastening means. Said pads 33 each have a pair of spaced apart slots 34 therein in alignment with the respective slots 32 and with the inner terminal connector plates of the receptacle.

Said pads or yieldable members 33 are preferably made of depressible sponge rubber or equivalent material. Mounted on the inner face of each of the pads 33 is an apertured or slotted relatively stiff though bendable and distortable sheet-like liner 35 whose smaller spaced apart apertures are relatively smaller and coincide with the slots respectively in the pads 33 as indicated in FIGS. 4 to 7. Slots 36 in said stiff, though flexible liner, are preferably a little longer than the width of the usual prong receiving slots in the receptacle. It will be understood that the usual metal contact prongs or plugs 37 of appliance cords are adapted to be inserted through the aligned slots or apertures in each of the pads 33 and liners 35 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6, in which view the plug and prongs are not pushed into the receptacle and do not reach or contact the terminals 25.

The user will normally push the plug and its prongs against the respective bosses 31 to compress the pads 33 substantially and simultaneously bend side portions of the bosses 31, and to thereby partially bend the portions of the stiffer liners 35 in the manner illustrated, in the cross sectional views of FIGS. 6 and 7, and as said pressing movement is continued the ends of the metal prongs of the plug 37 will engage and form an electrical contact with the bent ends of the terminals 25 as illustrated in FIG. 7.

It is to be noted that said pads 33 guard the inner portrons of the metal plug prongs against contact by human fingers either during the inserting movement or during the time when electrical contact is established between the metal prongs and the terminals 25; and further that such pads prevent the possible contact by human fingers or by metal objects during the portions of the plug-withdrawing movements while said contact plugs engage the electrical terminals.

A further important accomplishment and advantage of my said safety device is that said passaged plates and yieldable pads 33 and said reinforcing liners 35 prevent the accidental insertion by children of the fingers into the receptacle or socket while the said devices are mounted in normally exposed positions, and it is additionally pointed out that attempts of children to insert metal articles into such electrical receptacles or sockets is additionally prevented in that the inner relatively stiff rein forcing liners secured on the backs of the pads 33 will :stop normal insertions of any such metal objects, even if the yieldable pads 33 are penetrated by inward pressing movement of such metal objects or articles, for example, scissors, forks and other tableware.

The said safety devices are quickly and easily mounted over electrical receptacles and sockets by removal of the metal face plate and then inserting the projecting pads through the holes of the plate from the back side thereof and then re-securing the face plate by remounting of the central holding screw to thereby hold the flange or liner of y device g inst the Wall and against the electrical receptacle. Removal thereof is similarly quickly accomplished.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that numerous changes in the shape, size and materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter, and it is contemplated that various changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention herein specifically described without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention or any features thereof, and nothing herein shall be construed as limitations upon the invention, its concept or structural embodiment as to the whole or any part thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a safety device for shielding electrical receptacles against accidental contact a relatively thin non-conductive panel adapted to be mounted behind a metal face plate of an electrical receptacle;

an outwardly projecting slotted boss on said non-conductive panel;

an apertured pad of resilient rubber-like material mounted in said boss and having its inner face substantially parallel to the plane of said non-conductive panel;

a slotted plastic sheet-like liner secured to the inner face of said pad and having slots in substantial alignment with the apertures of said resilient pad;

said pad, said panel and said guard being adapted to receive and have projected therethrough the prongs of electric plugs; said pad and said guard normally preventing the insertion of pointed objects and of fingers into contact with the plug prongs or with metal parts of a receptacle.

2. A safety device for shielding electrical receptacles and electrical contact plugs against accidental contact substantially as recited in claim 1, and in which said pad is of a thicknes at least as great as the length of the projecting portions of metal prongs of an electrical plug; and wherein said sheet-like liner is formed of yieldable though partially rigid plastic material and said liner having a pair of spaced apart slots therein which are of a width smaller than the thickness of the prongs of an electrical plug, the areas of said liner defining said slots being flexible to permit insertion therethrough of the metal prongs of an electrical plug.

3. A safety device for preventing accidental contact of the terminals of electrical receptacles comprising an outer relatively thin shield having at least one normally inwardly opening flexible pocket, said pocket having spacedapart slots therethrough;

a pad of non-conductive yieldable compressible material mounted in said pocket, and having a pair of passages therethroughin substantial alignment with the slots in said pocket;

said flexible shield having a middle portion thereof securable to an electrical receptacle to substantially align said passages with the recesses of said electrical receptacle;

the insertion of a prong-carrying electrical plug through the slots of said shield and through the passages of said pad into contact with electrical terminals in said receptacle being adapted to compress said pad and depress portions of said pocket;

said pad being adapted to expand to substantially its normal size when said plug is withdrawn from said receptacle to thereby guard the prongs of said plug against human contact during the withdrawal or during the insertion of said plug relative to said receptacle.

4. A shielding safety device for electrical receptacles substantially as recited in claim 3 and having a non-conductive liner of yieldable material secured to the inner face of said pad;

3,317,881 5 6 said liner having slots therein of a width less than the References Cited by the Examiner i ifii iiiliftfiifiiiifii 2? $31 33?; $355 13155;; UNITED STATES PATENTS of an electrical plug are withdrawn therefrom; 3,201,740 8/1965 Rubens 174 67 X said partially closed slots of said panel and said liner 5 I being adapted to prevent insertion therethrough of LEWIS MYERS Pnmmy Exammer pointed conductive articles. H. W. COLLINS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A SAFETY DEVICE FOR SHIELDING ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLES AGAINST ACCIDENTAL CONTACT A RELATIVELY THIN NON-CONDUCTIVE PANEL ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED BEHIND A METAL FACE PLATE OF AN ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLE; AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING SLOTTED BOSS ON SAID NON-CONDUCTIVE PANEL; AN APERTURED PAD OF RESILIENT RUBBER-LIKE MATERIAL MOUNTED IN SAID BOSS AND HAVING ITS INNER FACE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF SAID NON-CONDUCTIVE PANEL; 